Ever wondered what would happen if bicycles could think for themselves? Well, this week, MIT researchers released a paper exploring the potential impacts of an autonomous bike fleet on city mobility.
The MIT Autonomous Bicycle — a multi-year project — explores on-demand bike sharing. The idea is that users call for a bicycle through an app, and it will ride autonomously to their location, where they can ride it as normal.
Once the trip is complete, it will go back to autonomous mode to pick up its following user or drive to a charging station.
Wait, how the heck does an autonomous bike work?
Hi there, EV nerd!
Subscribe now for a weekly recap of our favorite mobility stories
The researchers have designed a wheel mechanism that provides two different configurations.
When in use, the bicycle mode allows the experience to be the same as riding a regular two-wheeler. Then, for autonomous driving, it transforms into a tricycle that has the necessary stability to drive by itself.